Road spreader or plow



Nov. 17,1925- A. L. GREENABAUM ROAD SPREADER 0R PLOW Filed April 25, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WC'emvzdef Z. Greenabaum.

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 17 1925.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

\ lllllll I l I I l I llxrwl IIlulllllllulillllllll II I l l I I l l l l I l l l l II t l 1 A. L. GREENABAUM ROAD SPREADER oxi PLOW Filed April 25. 1921 M ATTORNEY.

A. L. GREENABAUM ROAD SPREADER on PLOW Nov. 17

Filed April 25, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 r L fireendfiaum.

ATTORNEY.

lllllll 0| have invented certain that the course of Patented. Nov. .17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

-ALEXANDER L. GREENABAUM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO 0. 1. JORDAN COMPANY, EAST CHICAGO, INDIANA.

[ROAD SPREADER OR 21.0w.

Application filed April 25, 19'21. Serial No. 464,126.

To the Commissioner 0 f Patents:

Be it known that I, AITEXANDER L. GREEN- ABAUM; a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois,

new and useful Improvementsvin Road Spreaders or Plows. of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to improvements in spreaders or plows but relates more particularly to improvements in spreaders or plows for use in conjunction with road vehicles; andv has for its object the distribution, spreading and shaping of any material that, may be upon the roadway and the 15 movement of which it is desired to effect. In

the making of roads or in the maintenance thereof it is often desirable to be able to level or spread material previously deposited upon the road to the end that a desired level or grade of the road may be secured. Also in making new roadways it is often necessary to remove material that is above the desired grade at one side of the roadway to the opposite side or some intermediate point where the roadway maybe belowthe desired grade or level. In the course of making a new roadway considerable difficulty has heretofore been encountered in maintaining the desired grade. That is to say, assuming the proposed road undulat-cs, i. e. is rough and irregular, it is necessary to remove varying amounts of material. Because of this fact and also because of the fact that in machines heretofore devised for this purpose the material moving means foun'd,.its.support intermediate the ground contacting wheels or tractive elements of the vehicle, the course of movement of the mam terial moving means did not proceed along "any vfixed grade or plane, but usually followed some mean line between the forward and rearward supporting elements, thus requiring several operations in order to remove accurately to grade.

In road maintenance work it is also imperativethat means shall be at hand where- L by it shall be possible to remove snow and slush from the. road. This is especially so in the more congested parts of the country .and in the cities, in which latter place, it has heretofore been necessary to remove the snow very quickly after its fall. Otherwise heai y tratlic soon compacts the snow to such winters not at all. As a result it has heretov fore been necessary to make a heavy investment 1n machines the use ofwhich was required only at very infrequent periods.

The general object of my invention is to provide an all around road spreader or plow, i. e. a device which shall function effectively in the moving, spreading and distributing of such materials, as stone, gravel, dirt, snow, slush. ice and the like.

It is a further object of my invention to provide'a plow and spreader which shall be capable of shifting or conveying material from a considerable distance on one .side of the road to a considerable distance-upon the other with the resultant ability to shift ma terial and level a considerable expanse of roadway in one operation while in use as a road building device, and -with the ability to clear practically an entire roadway of snow in a single movement or passage thereover when used for snow removal purposes. I aim also to provide a device of the character mentioned which shall be capable of easy attachment; to and removal from the road vehicle or device which is to propel the same, or to which it is to be attached.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character mentioned which shall be of such construction as to be easily operated; which'shall be composed of relatively few parts; and which shall be so formed and constructed as easily to withstand the forces to which it is subjected in use and hence which will be of durable character.

My invention consists generally in apparatus of the'form, arrangement, construction, and co-operation of the parts whereby the above named objects, together with others that will appear hereinafter, are attainable; and my invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawmgs which illustrate what that those in charge I consider, at the present time, to be the preferred embodiment thereof.

In said drawings:

, Fig. 1 is a plan View of a device enibodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the device.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of one of the struts used in bracing the spreader Wing- Fig. 5 is a sectional view, upon an enlarged scale, viewed along the line 5.5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing another of the braces used in bracing the spreader wing.

Fig. 7 is a view, partly in section, and, partly in elevation, of the strut or brace shown in Fig. 6 and the parts to which it 1s connected.

Fig; 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the front or plow part of the apparatus, the same being upon a scale enlarged with respect to the scale of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view substantially along. the line 99 of Fig. 8.

In the drawings my apparatus is illustrated in conjunction with a tractor of the endless tread type; (shown by means of dotted lines) but. this, it should be under-. stood, is by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, except where limitations to this end are embodied in the appended claims. I wish it to be understood, how-' ever, that my apparatus, in many respects, functions better when attached to a tractor having elongated endless tractor elements.

For instance, in the moving or displacing of heavy materials, or large amounts of materials, or materials that are heavily compacted or compressed, the large tractive surface of the endless tractive-elements and the great tractive effort which is thereby attainable, enables the removal and displacement of materials in amounts and in character which would otherwise completely b ffle dis lacement. So, also, in the makmg of a roadway the endless tractor elements are of especial value inasmuch as they serve as asupport rearward of the, plow and hence upon the previously smoothed or leveled part of the roadway. Because of the extended character of the support it is also possible to cut or remove large amounts of material without causing the plow to dig itself downwardly below the grade or level which'it is desiredrto maintain. Thus, it becomesapparent that my apparatus is of especial value when used in conjunction with a tractor of the endless tread type and for this reason I have designed the apparatus here shown so that it ,maybe very easily as well as very quickly attached to a machine of that tyne.

Referring now to the drawings for the details of construction 1 and 2 represent the endless tractor elements and 3 the frame of the tractor, all being indicated by means of dotted lines better to displaythe construction and operation of my novel mechanism which is designed for attachment thereto. As here shown, my apparatus likewise is built upon or around a frame. The frame, in this instance, is composed of the parallel side members 4 and-5, respec- '1 I tively, which assume the form of channel" members and which at their forward ends are bent inwardly at an angle to form the portions 6 and 7, respectively. The frame portions 6 and the transverse channel member 8 and the rear ends of the side channels 4 and 5' are cross-connected by means of an angle member 9 wh ch, 111 turn, is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to ,the. frame 3 of 8 the tractor as by means of bolts 10.

The frame is also cross-connected near the front end by means of the channel member 11 which is pressed or humped upwardly in the middle so that it may pass on the upper that the frame of my apparatus encompasses 5 the tractor and that it is supportedt-hcrefrom by the transverse brace members which serve rigidly to hold the frame of my apparatus in place. In order that there may be no confusion, I shall hereinafter refer to the frame of my apparatus as the plow spreader frame. v

At the forward end of the plow spreader frame I mount a V-shaped plow 12 which,

as here shown, is composed of the generally upstanding but slightly rearwardly inclmed plate members 13 and 14. These plates are braced at the nose by means of the angle member 15 and rearwardly are cross-connected by means of the beam 16.

This beam 16 serves a dual purpose, to wit. that of bracing the plates 13 and 14 of the plow and also of supporting the plow in its owermost working position. This is accoinplished by mounting the beam 16L at such height that when the plow 1.2 is in its lowermost working position the beam 16 will rest upon the upper faces of the portions 6 and 7 of the plow spreaderframe. For various purposes and for different reasons it is necessary or at least desirable that the plow shall be vertically movable. and; at the ,same time, due to the enormous forces encounteredin action,-it must be very rigidly and substantially mounted. In order,

to enable-the vertical movement of the plow,

i. e. the raising and lowering thereof I have here mounted. on the plow spreader frame.

vertically positioned I-beams 17, 18, 19and .20 and upon the inner faces oft-he plow I are rigidly connected by 80 have' provided ways 21, 22, 2.3, and 24, respectively, the construction of whi h is probably best shown in Figs. 8 and and wherein it will be seen that the ways straddle the I-beams and that they are blocked from the inclined plates of the plow so as to occupy a vertical position. The mechanism by which the plow is raised and lowered will be described later.

There is a great tendency on the part of the plow, especially when displacing heavily packed material todig itself in; that is to say to swing below the plane of the desired grade. Such action is prevented, however, by the spaced I-beams and interacting ways and also by means of'the cross-beam 16,

' which rests upon the plow spreader frame.

Therefore, the plow cannot swing downwardly without tilting the entire tractor,

usually weigh several tons.

plow spreader frame. and other parts, which I prefer, however, to counteract this tendency of the plow to dig itself in in still another way and to this end, I have provided supporting plate and which bears the reference character 25.- [lhis supporting plate is preferably a casting and is formed with an upstanding or nose. portion 26 which serves to take the wear from the plates of the plow, inasmuch as this nose portion is first to engage and displace the material.

\Vhile at timesthere may be a tendency of the plow to swing below the normal plane, provision must also be made to prevent an obstruction,'or other element, from lifting theplow. To this end, I have provided a toggle bracing construction extending be tween the front member 8 of the plow spreader frame and the front lower portion of the plow. It comprises the relatively short toggle lever member 27, which is pivotally secured to the plow spreader frame at 28, and the relatively long toggle member 29 which is pivotally secured to the supporting plate of the plow at 30. The toggle levers 27 and 29"are lnterconnected by means of a pin 3l, a nd the toggle member vided with an elongated. slot 32 swinging movement'of the parts 29 isproto permit to either side of a line drawn between the pivotal connections 28 and"30 respectively. In nor- I mal operation the toggle members 27 and29 1 28 and 30.

are swung -so that their center lines are below a line extending bet-ween the pivots Thus any tendency of the plow to move upwardly tends to further depress the toggle members, but further depression is positively prevented by means of the strap 33 which connects the two spaced parts of which the member 291s formed, and which passes on the upper side of the toggle mem v ber 29. Beforethe plow can move upwardly it is necessary to break the toggle and this is accomplished by means of a cable 34 which is attached to the strap-'33 at one end and characters 35 and what I term a which passes over suitable sheaves, as shown, toa position convenient for manipulation by the operator.

At each side of the plow spreader frame I have provided what I term spreader wings and which as a whole bear the reference 36, respectively. I have provided means whereby these spreader wings may be raised and lowered as a whole; whereby they may be swung in a horizontal plane to and from the plow spreader frame; and I have provided means whereby they may be swung in a vertical plane. The construction and operation of the spreader wings 35 and 36 are alike and hence a description of one, andits operation, will serve for both.

Mounted adjacent the forward end of the .plow spreader frame will be found two vertically disposed I- beams 37 and 38, respectively. These I-beams extend somewhat below the plow spreader frame and also extend to a very considerable distance thereabove. These I-beams are secured near their lower ends to portions 40 and 41 of the cross frame member 11, which portions are bent so as to occupy positions substantially at right angles to the portions 6 and 7 of the. plow spreader frame. Thus when I-beams are mounted upon these portions they extend in the same general direction (cross-sectionally considered) as the direction of the portions 6 and 7 which, in turn, substantially parallel the plate portions of the V-shaped plow 12. Near theirupper ends the I-beams 37 and 38 are secured to a transversely extending channel member 42 which corresponds in' tration of both wings. it will be observed that atits inner end it is provided with a heavy plate member 43 which isprovided with spaced lug portions 44 and 45, respectively which portions enter the pairs of spaced lug portions 46 and 47, respectively of the member 48. The member 48 also has portions 49 and 50, respectively, which embrace the I-beam, relatively loosely, so as to permit sliding movement on the I-beam.. 51 is a horizontal pivot passing through the plate 43 and wing 35, and 52 is a vertical pivot connecting the plate 43 with the member 48 that is slidably mounted upon the I-beam 38, The 'pivot pin 52 extends up-. wardly a considerable distance and at its upper end serves to unite the member 53 that is slidably mounted upon the I-beam 38, and the member 54 that is secured to the bracing strut 55 by means of the horizontal pivot pin 56. 57 is a sleeve which properly spaces the member 53 from the member 48.

The strut 55 is composed, as here shown, of the two channel members 58 and 59 which are spaced apart a distance sufficient to accommodate the web of the I-beam portion or member 60. The I-beam 60 is provided with a plurality of holes 61 through any of which bolts 62 may pass, thus admitting of the shortening or lengthening of the strut 55 as maybe necessary or desirable to position the spreader wing 35 at the desired angle. A strap 63 secured to the I-beam 60, encompasses the channel members 58 and ,59 and serves to take most of the strain off the securing bolts 62. The channel members 58 and 59, at their lower ends, straddle the spreader wing '35 and are secured thereto by means of the horizontal pivot 64. Thus the spreader wing 35 is mounted for vertical movement as a whole upwardly or downwardly, sliding on the vertical I-beam. It may likewise, as before described, be swung upon the horizontal pivot 51 to position its lower edge at any desired angle to the horizontal, being held very firmly and securely in any of its placed positions by means of thecdiagonal strut or wing pressing member 55. It will be understood, also, that the spreader wing 35 may be swung to and from the side of the apparatus swinging upon the vertical pivot 52. For bracing and holding the spreader wing in desired angular position relative to the side of the plow spreader frame I have provided a plurality of adjustable braces 65, which are of different lengths, but are otherwise similar in construction. Therefore, a description of one will suflice forv all. As is probably best shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the brace 65 is composed of a central hollow tubular member 66 into which extend the solid end members 67 and 68. The members 67 and 68, atetheir outer ends, are bifurcated and straddle respectively the angle member 69 secured to the inner side of'the spreader wing 35, and the angle member 70 which is secured to the plow spreader frame, being secured-to the said parts by means of the bolts 71 and 72 respectively. The tubular member 56 is sufficiently large to admit the members 67. and 68 freely so that telescoping of the parts may take place in order to change the efi'ective length of-the brace 65. the parts in any set position I provide the members 67 and 68 with a plurality of verticalhol'es 73 and 7 1, respectively and provide'the tubular member 66 with correspondingly sized holes 7 5, By aligning these holes and fastening bolts 7 6 and 77 therethrough the parts are locked in any set posi- For holding tion. If it is desired to swing the spreader wing 35 into substantially parallel relation to the plow spreader frame the braces 65 may be very quickly and easily removed.

At times it may be desirable to shift or move material from a point beyond the center of the apparatus to a point considerably to one side thereof and for this purpose I have provided what I term a front w1ng.

and which bearsthe reference character 78. This front wing is hingedly secured tothe plow 12 along the noseportion thereof as by means of the hinge members 79 and it is suitably braced as by means of the telescopic bracing members 80 which are, or may be, similar to the braces 65, heretofore described.

I have already described the construction which permits raising and lowering of the front plow and the spreader wings, and I shall now describe the means'by-which they may be raised and lowered.

Considering first the front plow it will be observed that I provide a cable 81 which is attached at one end to the crossbeam 16 of the plow which passes over a sheave, 82, that is carried in the upwardly inclined angle members 83 and 84 that extend between the channel member 8 and the channel member42 of the frame work, and from thence to the drum 85, which is rotatably suspended from the cross-member 86 of the frame. The drum may beactuated by means of the hand lever 87 which carries the pawl 88 for engagement with the ratchet portion 89 very owerful pull can be exerted upon the cable 81 serving to lift the plow. As before stated, however, before the plow can be raised it is necessary to break the toggle brace, as before described. Of course, reversal of the drum 85 permits the plow to move downwardly which it will do of its own weight.

The spreader wings 35 and 36 may be raised by means of similar drums 90 and 91 which are actuated by ratchet levers of the construction already described. The cable 92 has one end attached to the hinged portion 54 of the mounting means for the spreader wing 35, passes over the horizontally disposed sheave 93. and thence to thedrum 90. A cable 91 sin'iilarly passes an other sheave 95 and thence to the other side of the apparatus where it is connected, in the same manner, to the means supporting the wing 36 and likewise has one end'secured to the drum 91. The various drums 85, 90 and 91 are arranged'in close proximity; one

to the other, so that they may all be manipulated, conveniently, from one position on the vehicle.

I omitted to state that the cross member '86 isjsupported by the standards 96 which upstand from the plow spreader frame mem may be used either with or without the front spreader wing. Also that the spreader wing may be reversed so as to extend in the position opposite from that shown in full lines in the drawing, the full line position being a position in which it is placed when it (cooperates with the wing 35. So also it should be understood that the spreader wings may both be used at the same time in conjunction with the front plow, or one thereof may be used in conjunction with the front plow, or

both of the wings may be swung to inoperative position at the side of the plow spreader frame and the plow alone employed.

Again, if desired, the plow and the front wing may be used together. From the fore going it will be observed that the objects set forth in the opening of the specification are fully and completely attainable by means of the apparatus herein shown and described and it will be understood that ,my apparatus is capable of use for a wide variety of purposes for all of which it serves in an admirable manner.

By removing therear cross brace 9, and

at removing the bolts that secure the front brace 11 to the frame of the tractor my apparatus can be bodily removed from the tractor. Of course the attachment of my apparatus'to the tractor is effected by a merereversal of the steps described.

Inasmuch as this disclosure will suggest to others skilled. in theart to which this appertains modified constructions whereby the substantial objects and purposes may be attained, I do not wish to be limited to the specific construction herein shown and described, except only as may be necessary by limitations in the hereunto appended claims. I claim.: v 1; An apparatus of the kind described comprising in combination with the frame of a self propelled vehicle,

and supportedby said vehicle frame, a plow at the front endwf said plow spreader, a front spreader wing operatively connected .to the plow and extending forwardly and;

outwardly thereof, and means bracing said] spreader.wing operatively connected to theplow and extending forwardly and outa rectangular v plow spreader frame rigidly connected to wardly thereof, and means bracing said front spreader wing.

3. An apparatus of the kind described comprising in combinationswith the frame of a self plow spreader frame rigidly connected to and supported by said vehicle frame, a plow at the front end of said spreader frame and mounted for a vertical movement with respect thereto, means for imparting a vertical adjustable movement to said plow, a spreader wing operatively connected to said plow and extending forwardly and outwardly therefrom and means for bracing the outer end of said wing from said plow so that said wing will move vertically with said plow in the adjusting movement thereof.

4. An apparatus of the kind described comprising in combination with-the frame of a self propelled vehicle including transversely extending front and rear end members, a plow spreader frame also including transverse front and rear end members rigidlysecured to the like members of the vehicle frame, said plow spreader frame also including angularly disposed members for ward of said front end member, vertically disposed guides on said angularly disposed members, a plow having angularly disposed plate members, means connecting said plate members to the guide members and means for raising .and lowering said plow 5. An apparatus of the kind described comprising in combination with the frame of a self-propelled vehicle, a rectangular plowspreader fram rigidl connected to and supported by said vehi le frame, said plow spreader frame including angularly disposed parts at its front end, a vertically movable plow having side plates arranged parallel with said angularly disposed parts of said spreader frame, coacting means on said plow side plates and parts providing a guiding movement of said plow with respect to the spreader frame. and a brace, bar connecting said plow side plates which brace bar rests upon said angularly disposed parts of the spreader frame when the plow is in its lowest Working position. i 1

6. An apparatus of the class described embodying therein a vehicle having a frame, a plow-spreader frame secured thereto, a plow supported at the forward end of the plow-spreader frame, and a toggle brace extending between plow and plow-spreader frame.

propelled vehicle, a rectangular 7. An apparatus of the class described embodying therein a vehicle having a frame, a plow-spreader frame secured thereto, a plow supported at the forward end of the plow-spreader frame, a toggle brace extendingbetween plow and plow-spreader frame, and means for breaking the toggle brace.

8. An apparatus of the class described embodying therein a vehicle having a frame, a plow-spreader frame secured thereto, a vertically movable V-shaped plow arranged at the forward end thereof, and a brace extending between opposite sides of the V- shaped plow and being so positioned that it rests upon the plow-spreader frame when the plow is in its lowest working position.

9. An apparatus of the classdescribed embodying therein a vehicle having a frame, a plow, means separate from the vehicle frame for supporting the plow, and a toggle brace extending between the plow and its 15 supporting means.

10. An apparatus of the class described embodying therein. a vehicle having a frame, a plow, means separate from the vehicle frame'for supporting a plow, a toggle brace extending between the plow and its supporting means, and means for breaking the toggle brace.

11. An apparatus of the class described embodyingvtherein a vehicle having a frame, a V-shaped plow, means separate from the vehicle frame for supporting a plow and a supporting plate arranged at the bottom of the V-shaped plow.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 15th day of April, 1921.

ALEXANDER L. GR'EENABAUM. 

